Dangerous Fire Conditions, Elections Supervisors' Pay

elevated fire danger — See below for details. Click on the map for larger view.

Today: Sunny. Patchy frost in the morning. Highs in the mid 50s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 24 to 29 in the morning. Tonight: Clear. Areas of frost after midnight. Lows in the lower 30s. West winds 5 to 10 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 25 to 30. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 9.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: razzmatazz, adj. and n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

In Flagler and Palm Coast
Local News Recap
Flagler Jail Bookings and Sheriff’s Crime Reports
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler and Palm Coast
PR Releases
In the Press, In the News
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports
Local Road and Interstate Construction
Cultural Coda

In Flagler and Palm Coast:

Note: all government meetings noticed below are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Many can be heard or seen live through each agency’s website.

A Warning from NOAA: A cold and windy air mass will continue of the area again Wednesday. Relative humidity will fall below 30% by midday across most locations with minimum values near 25% during the afternoon. The dry air mass combined with wind gusts up to 30 mph will create potentially dangerous fire weather conditions. The limiting factor at this time for a Fire Weather Watch is fuel moisture, given recent rainfall. Wednesday Potential Impacts:
Winds: West Winds 15-20 mph with gusts 25-30 mph.
Minimum Humidity: 23-26%. Humidity expected to remain below 35% for 7-9 hrs.
10-hr Fuel Moisture Range (SE GA): 6-8%.

The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets at 8:45 a.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell. No agenda was posted.

Ribbon-Cutting: Darlene Montrose of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, 4 p.m. at 1 Hammock Beach Parkway in Palm Coast.

Local News Recap:

Updated jail bookings and day and night shift incident summary reports are available here.

In a Decisive Shift, Palm Coast Will Oppose Fracking On and Offshore, Citing Environment: Just eight months after declining to join the Flagler County Commission in opposition to fracking and seismic testing offshore, the Palm Coast City Council in a decisive turn-around Tuesday said it would support a resolution opposing fracking, and would seek to forward the resolution to the Florida Legislature and the Florida League of Cities, both of which are favoring the new oil-extraction method.

Dueling On, State Recommends $19,000 Fine and Public Reprimand Against Manfre, Who Maintains Innocence: The ethics commission’s advocate struck the latest blow on Jan. 19 in a recommendation that Manfre pay a $19,000 fine for violating state law, and that he be publicly censured and reprimanded. Manfre countered that the whole case should be dismissed. An administrative law judge is expected to render a decision any day.

Bathroom Use By Transgenders Scuttles Bill Designed to End LGBT Discrimination: But the bill faces strong opposition from social conservatives such as John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council, who said it would do nothing to stimulate the state’s economy.

Palm Coast Man Jailed on $160,000 Bond Over Molestation Charges Involving 2 Children: Aiello was arrested on five felony counts of sexual improprieties involving children–a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl.

In State Government:

Note: Most proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel.

Corruption: The Senate Rules Committee will take up a series of bills, including a proposal (SB 582), filed by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, that would seek to toughen laws about public corruption. (10 a.m.)

Elections supervisors’ pay: The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee will consider a proposal (SB 514), filed by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, that would revamp the way salaries are calculated for local supervisors of elections. The changes would lead to higher salaries. (10:30 a.m.)

The Senate holds a floor session on the budget at 1 p.m., the House holds a floor session at the same time.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will start two days of meetings and take up a series of fishery issues. (8:30 a.m., Florida Public Safety Institute Conference Center, 85 Academy Dr., Havana.)

The Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a Duval County case that involves police officers obtaining evidence after entering a garage without a warrant. The issue centers on whether the search violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. (10 a.m.)

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS DUE: State political candidates and committees face a Wednesday deadline for filing reports showing finance activity through Jan. 31.

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:

Click on the links for more details:

Feb. 10: The Friends of the Library hosts the first of two two concerts in recognition of Valentine’s Day. At 2:00 p.m., autoharpist and folksinger, Adam Miller will present a sing along program of Folksongs of Sweethearts and Spouses, at the Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW. Refreshments will be served. Call 386-446-6763. The second concert is on Feb. 13.
Feb. 11, 4 p.m., the Palm Coast Arts Foundation has a ground-breaking for Phase I of its multi-phased cultural arts center in Town Center, on Central Avenue just east of Epic Theaters. The project will consist of an outdoors entertainment venue that will accommodate, among other events, the annual Picnics and Pops concert of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Anyone interested in helping PCAF accelerate the project is asked to contact Nancy Crouch, Executive Director, at 386/263.2991 or [email protected].
February 13: At 2:00 pm, The Friends of the Library will be hosting our annual Valentine’s Concert featuring the music of Linda Cole. Both concerts will be held at the Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW. Refreshments will be served. Call 386-446-6763.
Feb. 13: Winter Scholastic Series Chess Tournament (K-12) and Winter Open (G/45;d5), Jacksonville Chess Club, at San Jose Church of Christ, 6233 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, registration onsite starts at 9 a.m. Click on the link for more details.
Feb. 15: Florida Hospital Flagler holds a groundbreaking on a 23-bed, $15-million expansion scheduled for completion at the end of 2016. The groundbreaking takes place outside the Emergency Room entrance at 4 p.m.
Feb. 15: Palm Coast’s Africa American Cultural Society hosts a free political forum at 6 p.m. featuring the two respective local leaders of the campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Feb. 29: Flagler Youth Orchestra’s Strings Around the World Concert, 7 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium. Adult tickets, $6 and children 17 and under are $1. Visit the website.
April 2: Cheer at the Pier, a fund-raiser for the Flagler Beach Historical Museum, from 3 to 6 p.m. Call Virginia Giaramita for information at 386/299-8892.

PR Releases:

Click on the link for more details.

In the Press, In the News:

Forget what the GOP says. Obama likes BIG military budgets: https://t.co/kFspZdW9dr pic.twitter.com/DxW4vXcXAM

— Slate (@Slate) February 10, 2016

How religious rhetoric plays out on the campaign trail https://t.co/jibrENUET1 pic.twitter.com/wuyqivoGTF

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) February 9, 2016

https://twitter.com/TheFix/status/697217438971207680

What happens when an identity built on victory begins to falter? https://t.co/5PCaT8JPHI pic.twitter.com/J3KQN78BfX

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) February 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/TBOcom/status/697217236906414080

VIDEO: A look around Hendrix's London home https://t.co/sCpUIPL5e7

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) February 10, 2016

Fact-Checking the Knaves:

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through Jan. 27:

Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, 1 percent done: Located at 5625 North US Highway 1, the school received a Development Order for a new 13,794 sq. ft. early learning center to be located on the south side of their 8.6-acre site. The architecture of the new one-story building will be very similar to the existing church and school facilities that are located just north of the proposed new building.

Holland Park, 50 percent done: Grading and installation of sidewalks continues. Rough grading of Playground area. Restroom slab has been poured. Electrical conduit installation continues. Pavilion lighting being installed. Stormwater piping installation continues in Playground area.

County’s I-95 Interchange Matanzas Woods Reclaim Water, 76 percent done: Retention ponds are being excavated and fill continues for the ramps. (Not in the Dec. 15 update.)

Palm Harbor Parkway Roadway Extension, 47 percent done: January 25, 2016 the new 10″ water main and 6″ force main
on the east end between the Conservatory and Old Kings Road were tied into existing mains on Forest Grove.

Colechester Bridge, 94 percent done: Sea walls have been completed and forming of the western abutment almost complete.

Palm Harbor Extension, 45 percent done: Met on site with contractor to discuss water and sewer testing and construction meter placement.

North Old Kings Road Extension to Matanzas Woods Parkway, 19 percent done: Asphalt was installed on the new section of roadway adjacent to the old roadway at the intersection of Old Kings Road and Forest Grove. (Not in the Dec. 4 update.)

Old Kings Road Force Main 90 percent done:: The contractor has tied the 8″ force main to the 16″ force main in front of the new Master Pump Station on South Old Kings Road. On January 13, 2016 the contractor installed a 16″ X 8″ wye and an 8″ valve in front of the existing lift station on Old Kings Road South. An 8″ wye and an 8″ 45 elbow fitting was installed to complete the connection from the existing 8″ force main to the new 16″ future force main.

Island Walk Shopping Center Phase 2, 25 percent done: A substantial walk thru for punch list was done January 22,
2016. Chlorination of new section of water main in Phase 2 was completed January 27, 2016.

Road and Interstate Construction:

Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway to be closed starting Dec. 18: Effective Friday, Dec. 18, the City of Palm Coast will be closing the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway. This road closure is required as part of construction operations for the Palm Harbor Parkway extension, which is currently under construction. Palm Harbor is being realigned and extended to connect directly with Matanzas Woods Parkway where it intersects with Old Kings Road. Message boards will be placed to advise motorists and other travelers of the upcoming change, and a public meeting has already been held for residents living in that area. Both the Palm Harbor extension and a separate extension of Old Kings Road are being built in preparation for the new Interstate 95 interchange to open next June at Matanzas Woods Parkway. As part of the projects, traffic patterns around Matanzas High School will be changing. One goal is to turn Forest Grove Drive back into a residential street as it was originally intended to be. The upcoming road closure of the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway is part of that project. Forest Grove will be turned into a cul de sac on that end. Once the separate Old Kings Road extension is completed, in June 2016, the Forest Grove Drive access to the high school will be closed because it will no longer be needed. Instead, motorists and other travelers will get to Matanzas High School via the new signalized intersection at Matanzas Woods, Palm Harbor and Old Kings. For more information, please contact Palm Coast Communications Manager Cindi Lane at 386-986-3708 or [email protected].